Explosive and method of manufacturing same



unite mm WALTER O. SNELLING, OF ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 TROJAN POWDER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

EXPLOSIVE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER O. SNELLING, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Allentown, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in EX- plosives and Methods of Manufacturing Same, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to new and improved explosives of the detonating type, and more particularly has to do with explosives in which there is present an inorganic nitrate in close association with a material which, although non-explosive in itself, is capable of reacting explosively with the nitrate under certain'conditions, and particularly when a finely divided solid detonating explosive is present as an additional sensitizing agent.

The desirability of utilizing inorganic nitrates, such for example as ammonium nitrate, as the major ingredient of an explosive mixture, is quite apparent to the explosive'chemist, but the matter of properly sensitizing such materials has presented some difiiculty. I have discovered that an inorganic nitrate may be partially sensitized by providing it with a coating of an organic material which is not in itself explosive, andthe partially sensitized nitrate may then be completely sensitized by admixture with particles of a solid organic nitrate. a

For purposes of illustration I will describe an embodiment of my invention in which the inorganic nitrate employed is ammonium nitrate, the non-explosive sensitizing agent is vulcanized or sulfurized oil, and the solid or anic nitrate is nitrostarch.

first take ammonium nitrate particles of proper grain size, and coat these particles, preferably under continued agitation or stirring, by means of a vulcanizable'oil, such as cottonseed oil, for example. When each particle of the ammonium nitrate or other nitrate to be coated, has received a proper coating of the vulcanizable oil, I contactthe particles with a vulcaniz'ing agent such as the vapor of sulfur chlorid. I may of course use a vulcanizable oil and sulfur and bring about vulcanization by the use of a suitable temperature, but the method described gives very desirable result without the'use of any artificially applied heat. U11- der the influence of the vulcanizing agent the liquid oil on the particles of the nitrate be- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1921.

Application filed March 25, 1920. Serial No. 368,606.

comes rapidly solidified, and for reasons not valuable explosives. The preferred proportions of the several ingredients are from 3% to 15% of nitrostarch to 97% to 85% of coated ammonium-nitrate, the oil coating representing from 1 to 10% of the coated nitrate.

Instead of obtaining the solid non-explosive sensitizing coating on particles .of a nitrate in the manner described, I may obtain such a coating by other means not in volving vulcanization, but producing the same result of transforming a liquid coating first applied into a solid firmly adhering coating. I may for example agitate my particles of nitrate with liquid tung oil, or withequivalent oil which polymerizes to a solid body on an exposure to an elevated temperature, and having applied such coating of. liquid oil I may then raise the temperature, and polymerize the 'oil to a solid non-explosive sensitizing coating. By another alternative method I may coat my nitrate particles at an elevated temperature by means of a liquid oil or resin malntained liquid by the elevated temperature employed, and I may then cause t e liquid coating o applied to solidify by allowing the temperature of the coated particles to fall. By still another alternative method I may coat n1 particles of ammonium nitrate with a liquid oil which becomes changed to a solid through other influences than vulcanization or polymerization by heat. I may for example coat my particles with a drying oil, with or without the presence of a drier, and I may then blow air or oxygen, or other chemical agent through the mass, or otherwise contact' the particles coated with the liquid oil so as to causethe liquid to oxidize or otherwise be chemicall changed into its solid reaction product y coating nitrate particles with linseed oil for example, with or without the presence of a metallic or organic drier, and by then blowing air through the mass while agitating the same, and pref: erably by maintaining the temperature sufficiently above normal to accelerate the reaction, I obtain a solid coating of solidified linseed oil which is well adapted to my use.

as a non-explosive solid sensitizing agent.

A equivalent for the sensitizing or par- I tially sensitizing agpnts specifically mentioned I may use ot er non-explosive solid organic coating materials high in carbon and hydrogen, causing the same to closely adhere to the particles of inorganic nitrate by application as a liquid and subsequent tran formation by chemical or physical mean to the form of a solid.

The range of inorganic nitrates available as e uivalent for ammonium nitrate is large. or example I may employ sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, or barium nitrate, either alone, or in admixture with ammonium nitrate, or in admixture with each other, with or without the presence of ammonium nitrate; and I find in general. that a large number of lnorganic nitrates, when sensitized by means of a non-explosive, solid, closely adhering organic body of relatively high carbon and hydrogen content, become 7 capable of use in combination with a solid detonating agent as explosives of great strength and high efiiciency. As equivalents of nitrated starch, I may use nitrated cellulose or other solid nitrated carbohydrates, such as the solid nitrated sugars, or other explosive materials, of solid nature existing as dlstinct solid particles capable of detonation, and capable of transmitting detonation from one particle to another.

I claim:

1. An explosive composition comprising an inorganic nitrate coated with a closelyadhering solidified non-explosivesensitizing agent and mixed with sufiicient of a solid explosive sensitizing agent to render the whole sensitive to detonation.

2. An explosive composition containing an inorganic nitrate coated with a solid nonexplosive vulcanized oil.

3. An explosive composition comprising an inorganic nitrate coated with a solid nonexplosive vulcanized oil and sensitized by admixture with a solid detonating explosive.

4. An explosive composition comprising an inorganic nitrate coated with a solid nonexplosive polymerized oil and sensitized by admixture with a solid detonating explosive.

5. An explosive composition comprising an inorganic nitrate coated with a solid nonex losive oxidized oil and sensitized by admixture with a solid detonating explosive.

6. An explosive composition containing ammonium nitrate particles provided with a closel adhering coating of a non-explosive oil soli ified by sulfurization. 1

7. An explosive composition comprising ammonium nitrate particles provided with a closely adhering coating of a non-explosive oil solidified by sulfurization and mixed with a solid inorganic nitrate.

8. An explosive composition comprising to 97% ammonium nitrate articles coated with a non-explosive solidified oil, and 15% to 3% nitrostarch. Y

9. In the manufacture of explosives, the process which comprises coating particles of an inorganic nitrate with a thin layer of a liquid, non-explosive sensitizing agent, transforming such liquid non-explosive sensitizing agent to solid condition, and admixing sufiicient solid explosive sensitizing agent to render the whole sufliciently sensitive to detonation.

10. In the manufacture of explosives, the process which comprises coating particles of an inorganic nitrate with a thin layer of a non-explosive liquid, transforming such liquid to a solid so as to obtain a closely adhering solid coating of non-explosive nature on the particles of inorganic nitrate, and admixing sufiicient solid explosive sensitizing agent to the coated particles so obtained as to render them sensitive to detonation from afulminate cap containing one gram of mercury fulminate.

11. In the manufacture of explosives, the

process which comprises coating particles of an inorganic nitrate with a thin layer of a liquid, non-explosive oil, transforming such oil to solid condition by the action of a vulcanizing agent, and admixing sufficient ing ammonium nitrate by providing particles thereof with -a thin coating of nonexplosive liquid oil and solidifying said coating, and adding sufiicient nitrostarch to completely sensitize the entire mixture.

16. The method of forming an explosive which consists of coating particles of ammonium nitrate with sufiicient of sensitiz- III 10 solid explosive sensitizing agent to render monium nitrate with suflicient of a sensitizing material to incompletely sensitize said' nitrate, and admixing with said incompletely 10 sensitized particles sufficient nitrostarch to completely sensitize the entire mass.

WALTER O. SNELLING. 

